Callie's Photojournalism Blog: Ansel Adams

Ansel Adams

http://www.biography.com/people/ansel-adams-9175697

http://vault.sierraclub.org/history/ansel-adams/

Ansel Adams was born on February 20, 1902 in San Francisco, California. He grew to love nature, he'd play in the sand dunes beyond the Golden Gate Bridge and got photographic inspiration from the beautiful scenery around him. He went to Yosemite National Park and was transfixed on the beauty of the park and when he was 17 he got a job there as a custodian. He was so amazed with the beauty, he often went up to the mountains accompanied by a mule laden with photographic gear and supplies. He soon become the park's official photographer and that's how he had a early success as a photographer. as he was growing up even though he had photography he went to school as well, he was dismissed from schools for bad behavior and then had private tutors and family members help teach him since he was 12. He also taught himself piano while he lived at home, it became a early passion besides photography.
In 1928, Adams married Virginia Best, the daughter of the Best's studio proprietor. Adams enjoyed photography and would take it anywhere he'd go, in 1941 right before Pearl Harbor happened, he shot a photo, "Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico". In 1968, he was awarded the Conservation Service Award, the Interior Department's highest civilian honor. In 1980, Adams recieved the Presidential Medal of Freedom, for his photography that showed nature's most beautiful moments and the most beautiful spots on Earth. Even though he photography was extraordinary he was still criticized for not including people in his photography. Ansel Adams died on April 22, 1984 because a heart attack at the Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula in Monterey, California at the age 84.